The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

Business is a warzone: If you stand still, you die. No matter how good your product or service, you’re at the mercy of cause and effect.

The market’s evolving needs must be met by evolving products. Those needs are increasingly expressed not in the classic focus-groups of yore, but in today’s vibrant social media forums. This fundamentally changes the game between a company and its customers. Read this article to discover how to play the new social-business game.

Brian Solis (cc:by)

It can be a huge culture shock for unprepared businesses. Take Microsoft as an example. The coming Windows 8 Tablet and Windows Phone are classic examples of the evolution of market needs. The Microsoft that produced Windows 95 would be history had its products not evolved.

Love it or loathe it, Windows 8 is a direct response to the needs of its target audience, which asked for mobility, touch-centric form-factors, and compatibility with legacy software.

Business is Changing

But perhaps companies like Microsoft aren’t like yours? They deal in products that constantly change and have a short shelf life; change and fluidity are normal in their particular market.

So what happens when you’re not one of these companies? How do you deal with the speed at which social media and the spread of connected devices has changed the balance of power between a company and its customers and made it difficult to market using traditional advertising tools?

Brian Fetherstonhaugh, CEO of OgilvyOne, argues that the challenges faced by digital companies are also experienced by everyone else. The market has shifted from product to experience and those who are still product orientated are fighting a losing battle with ever diminishing returns in revenue and market share.

Marketing is in the hot seat. So many of the tools and assumptions we grew up with are no longer valid. ... We need a new framework. And a new tool kit...creating a mission and brand experience that are so inspiring to consumers that they engage with you—and share their enthusiasm with others.

How do Traditional Companies Adapt?

This kind of change can be difficult to handle, if what you sell is not computing devices and smartphones but baby powder, soft drinks or contact lenses. Your company may be governed by a hierarchical, top-heavy structure that makes it difficult to maneuver in a social media environment.

Social media and social business are two sides of the same coin. One uses social networks to reach an audience; the other creates a borderless world within the enterprise itself.

Markets are conversations. Their members communicate in language that is natural, open, honest, direct, funny and often shocking. ... The human voice is unmistakably genuine. It can't be faked.

To be made to work, both require a clear understanding of business goals and social media purpose across the entire business. When I talk to executives about this, they see that their customers are increasingly socially active. They understand their market is changing; they know they need to change with it.

The dilemma that executives face is to effect change—changing their business to meet the demands of their market—but without tearing their existing company apart.

The Social-Business Solution

One way is to look at how social networks function, and put the model to work inside the company. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter start off with a set of connectivity tools that disrupt the norm of personal communications. Enthusiastic early adopters become power users who then drag along their friends, colleagues and families; then the social network begins to take a life and shape of its own.

Translated into a corporate environment, this model starts with the use of communication tools such as Yammer, which disrupt the corporate hierarchy and kick-start a collaborative culture. It’s followed by the re-training of mid-level executives to act as change agents within the company and it’s crowned by the company leaders becoming conversant in the language of social business.

While pundits suggest that this isn’t nearly enough, the very inertia which corporations experience when it comes to change, works for them once change is adopted and new working practices are put in place.

Tomorrow’s business is changing—from the inside out. By the time the changes are apparent, the companies that didn’t adapt will be mortally wounded... or dead.